It is a common experience to use, e.g., a wireless or wireline telephone, to call an operator for information assistance. In a typical information assistance call, a caller identifies to the operator the name and address (sometimes city or area code) of a party whose telephone number is desired. In response, the operator locates the desired destination number using, e.g., a computer database. The destination number is then provided to the caller, e.g., by a computerized voice server which provides automated voicing of the number, and the caller is afforded an option to be connected to the destination number without the need of first terminating the information assistance call.
After exercising such an option, the caller may further take advantage of enhanced assistance service features during or after the connection to the destination number. For example, one such enhanced service feature, known as a “StarBack” feature, is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,797,092 issued Aug. 18, 1998 to Cox et al. To realize the StarBack feature, the caller's connection is continually monitored for a predetermined DTMF signal, such as that obtained by pressing a “*” key by the caller, after the caller is connected to the destination number. If such a signal is detected, the caller is transferred back to an operator, who can then provide further assistance.